Body Scanning

Progressive Neuromuscular Relaxation teaches you to differentiate between tension and relaxation in your muscles. Once this has been learnt it may not be necessary for you to continue to tense and relax the muscle groups in order to achieve a relaxed body. It may now only be necessary for you to scan your body using the final exercise in the PMR above:

Your face and head are relaxed
Your neck and shoulders are relaxed
Your arm and hands are relaxed
Your chest and upper back muscles are loose
Your tummy and lower back muscles are loose
Your bum muscles have let go
Your thigh muscles are relaxed and roll out
Your calf muscles are relaxed
Your feet and toes and relaxed and the feet fall out and away from the centre line of the body.
All of your body is loose and heavy.. Keep your focus on the sensations of letting go.. relaxing.. Releasing

Should you become aware of areas of the body that are having difficulties letting go, focus on the area and breath into it. Imagine your breath energy smoothing out the tension. Should thoughts and images come into your mind as to why you are having difficulty relaxing the area, acknowledge them but set them aside. It may be as a result of an old injury. It may be a habitual holding of a body area for protection against physical or mental stressors. Whatever the cause, now is not the time to analyse it. Now is the time to release it and achieve muscular and mental relaxation.